COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Just Like '95: Nebraska Rolls; Unlike '95: Northwestern Loses

Published: September 8, 1996

Wake Forest 28 Northwestern 27

Northwestern's bid for another captivating season fizzled at the gate last night as long-suffering Wake Forest blew a pair of 10-point leads before rallying for a 28-27 victory over the Wildcats, ranked No. 13 in the Associated Press news media poll.

Brian Kuklick hit Desmond Clark with a pair of fourth-quarter scoring passes, including a 30-yarder with 51 seconds left, as the Demon Deacons snapped their 30-game losing skid against ranked teams. Bill Hollows's extra-point kick provided the winning margin in Wake Forest's first triumph over a Top 25 opponent since October 1979.

The Demon Deacons killed Northwestern's last chance with an interception by Tom Stuetzer with 34 seconds remaining, giving Wake Forest its first victory over a Big Ten opponent in nine tries.

Many in the crowd of 21,749 at Grove Stadium stormed the field and began a raucous celebration that culminated in the leveling of one of the goal posts.

Northwestern, which upset Notre Dame in its opener last year to set up a shockingly successful season, turned it over twice in the first four-plus minutes. It was a sobering start for a team that was 8-0 in the Big Ten last year and played in the Rose Bowl, the school's first post-season appearance since 1949.

Darnell Autry rushed 32 times for 173 yards and two touchdowns to help the defending Big Ten champions overcome a pair of 10-point leads by a team that went 0-8 in the A.C.C. last year and finished 1-10.

Nebraska 55, Michigan State 14

Linebacker Mike Minter intercepted two passes, scoring one touchdown and setting up another, as Nebraska (No. 1 A.P.), began its bid for a third consecutive national championship yesterday in Lincoln, Neb.

While the Cornhuskers' offense gained 298 yards, it was Nebraska's defense and special teams that really hurt the Spartans (1-1).

Defensive players scored three of Nebraska's seven touchdowns and set up two others with a pass interception and a blocked punt.

Florida State 44, Duke 7

Led by defensive ends Peter Boulware and Reinard Wilson, the Florida State defense set up three touchdowns and a field goal as the Seminoles (No. 3 A.P.) defeated Duke in Tallahassee. Boulware had two and a half sacks and Wilson totaled 11 tackles.

Florida 62, Ga. Southern 14

Danny Wuerffel answered Coach Steve Spurrier's criticism with near perfection, missing on just one pass for Florida (No. 4 A.P.).

Wuerffel was 15 of 16 for 267 yards and two touchdowns for the Gators (2-0), a far cry from last week when he missed open receivers and drew the brunt of Spurrier's criticism.

Georgia Southern (1-1), a Division I-AA school, flustered Florida with its flexbone option attack that took chunks of time off the clock and kept the score from really getting out of hand.

Wuerffel had a pass efficiency rating of 275.2 for the game.

Texas 41, New Mexico State 7

Ricky Williams ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns as host Texas (No. 8 A.P.) took advantage of early turnovers and rolled to victory over New Mexico State. The Longhorns (2-0), off next weekend before facing Notre Dame at home on Sept. 21, led 31-7 at halftime and emptied their bench in the second half.

Ohio St. 70, Rice 7

Pepe Pearson ran for 119 yards and three touchdowns, and the freshman Michael Wiley scored three times on plays of 49 yards or longer as Ohio State (No. 10 A.P.) routed Rice.

Alabama 20

Southern Mississippi 10

Alabama's defense smothered Southern Mississippi, forcing three turnovers and allowing just two plays for positive yardage in the second half of a victory in Birmingham. In the second half, Alabama (No. 14 A.P.) held Southern Miss to minus-29 yards in offense.

U.S.C. 55, Illinois 3

LaVale Woods ran for two touchdowns, and visiting U.S.C. kept Illinois out of the end zone as the Trojans (No. 19 A.P.) swamped the Illini. The Trojans (1-1) scored on long passes, short runs, field goals and a blocked punt on the way to giving the Illini (0-2) their worst loss in the 1990's.

Louisiana State 35, Houston 34

Kevin Faulk, originally suspended for the game, ran for 246 yards, returned four punts for 106 yards and scored three touchdowns as host Louisiana State (No. 17 A.P.) rallied after trailing by 20 points in the fourth quarter.

Coach Gerry DiNardo suspended Faulk for one game after he was arrested Feb. 19 outside a bar and charged with two counts of battery on a police officer, resisting arrest and failure to move. The police dropped the charges on Thursday, prompting DiNardo to reinstate Faulk.

IN OTHER GAMES

Shyrone Stith ran for 119 yards and two short-yardage touchdowns as VIRGINIA TECH (No. 15 A.P.) beat host AKRON, 21-18, after spotting the Zips an 8-point lead. . . . Dameyne Craig passed for 207 yards and had a hand in four AUBURN touchdowns as the Tigers (No. 18 A.P.) embarrassed FRESNO STATE, 62-0. . . . Brian Kavanagh completed 19 of 22 passes for 232 yards and three touchdowns, and Marlon Charles rushed for 195 yards and two more scores as host KANSAS STATE (No. 21 A.P.) swamped Division I-AA INDIANA STATE, 59-3. . . . Sedrick Shaw ran for 115 yards and a touchdown, and host IOWA (No. 22 A.P.) used an opportunistic defense to outlast ARIZONA, 21-20. . . . Joe Rowe scored on an 82-yard kickoff return and a blocked punt and Tiki Barber ran for two touchdowns as host VIRGINIA (No. 23 A.P.) defeated CENTRAL MICHIGAN, 55-21. . . . Jeff Dover, a redshirt freshman, passed for two touchdowns as visiting TEXAS CHRISTIAN upset OKLAHOMA, 20-7, spoiling Coach John Blake's debut. . . . Ramon Flanigan threw a screen pass for a touchdown early in the second half as visiting SOUTHERN METHODIST surprised ARKANSAS, 23-10. . . . C. J. Williams scored three touchdowns and GEORGIA TECH overcame three first-half turnovers to beat NORTH CAROLINA STATE, 28-16, in Raleigh, N.C. . . . In Irving, Tex., Byron Hanspard rushed for a school-record 272 yards and scored two touchdowns as TEXAS TECH rolled to a 31-3 victory over OKLAHOMA STATE in the first Big 12 game between the teams. . . . Leftover thunderclouds from Hurricane Fran poured all over the University of BUFFALO Stadium as rain and mud amounted to a messy-looking game. The CONNECTICUT Huskies did not mind the outcome, though, as they beat the University at Buffalo, 20-3.